by CYRUS OMBATI
Friday November 4, 2022
HOST NEW REFUGEES: UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, Garissa Governor Nathif Jama and Mohamed Affey the UNHCR Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa interact with refugees at the Dagahaley refugee camp.
Image: STEPHEN ASTARIKO
A South Sudanese refugee was found dead after a suspected suicide at Dadaab camp in Garissa county.
Police said the body of Abdiraham Banther Ajak, 38, was found hanging in his room at Block S4 within Ifo camp.
The motive of the incident is yet to be known.Police said they moved the body to a local mortuary for autopsy.
The victim was among thousands who are being hosted at the camp as refugees.
There are more than 50,000 refugees at the camp. Some are being reintegrated and repatriated to various countries that agree to take them.
Kenya has been pushing for closure of the Dadaab camps due to reasons such as terror issues.
There are more than 200,000 refugees from Somalia. This is the largest group compared to those from South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Uganda.
The first attempt to close the camp was made in 2019 following the dusitD2 complex terror attack in Nairobi, in which 21 people were killed.
This is after it emerged one of the five men who attacked dusitD2 came to Kenya through Dagahaley refugee camp of the larger Dadaab.
Police investigations showed the unidentified suspect posed as a refugee before he was facilitated and brought to Nairobi to execute the attack.
In 2016, the government ordered the closure of Dadaab refugee camp.
The then Interior Cabinet secretary Joseph Nkaissery said security, environmental degradation and economic concerns were the key factors that informed the government's decision to close down the camp.
But in a court ruling in February 2017, Justice John Mativo stopped the plans, saying Nkaissery and Kibicho had acted beyond their powers.
The court also declared the repatriation of refugees unconstitutional, describing it as discriminative.
The judge directed the government to adopt mechanisms that would ensure the department dealing with refugee affairs is functioning properly.
(Edited by Bilha Makokha)